Flyg: Women do have a ‘legal choice’

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Women do have a ‘legal choice’

Re: W. Gerald Bird Jr.’s July 13 letter

To clear up a possible misconception regarding Roe v. Wade, I would like to summarize what the January 22, 1973 actually said. Many people believe that the Court made abortion legal in the first trimester of pregnancy only, and that it is subject to substantial limits and regulations. That is not true.

The Court did not create a limited right to abortion but a virtually unlimited right to abortion throughout pregnancy. Stated very simply, the Court gave abortion doctors the power to override any abortion restriction by merely claiming that there are “emotional” reasons for the abortion. For additional and a more detailed discussion of this please see www.frc.org. (This simple explanation is summarized from this information.)

Of course, the question: “Should women have the legal choice?” is much more complex.

The Huffington Post has just put out a poll on abortion. Question 5: Would you favor or oppose a federal law that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, except in cases of rape or incest?

Strongly favor 41 percent and somewhat favor 18 percent.

Strongly oppose 21 percent and somewhat oppose 9 percent.

In summary almost twice as many said strongly favor than said strongly oppose, and twice as many said somewhat favor that somewhat oppose. A May 7-9, 2009 Gallup Poll was one of the first polls that indicated that a majority of Americans self-identified as “pro-life” than “pro-choice.” The American public is clearly becoming more “pro-choice.” Time will tell if Roe v. Wade is overturned.